Welcome to the course

Welcome to the first course in the Starting a Business series. In this course we consider vision and opportunity.

This course is just one of a series designed by the University of Leeds for school-based learners and their teachers. As this is an open course, we do also welcome other learners; as you will have seen from the welcome area, we have a diverse cohort signed up. However, it is important to recognise that this course, and the content and activities within it, has been specifically designed to help those studying at school or college make the transition to studying at university or the work place.

We have provided a course map to help you navigate your journey through the course: click on the image to access, or you can download the map from the Downloads section below.

It is anticipated that it will take around two hours to complete the tasks during each week. This includes watching videos, joining discussions, reading articles and completing any exercises. If you have more time, we have also provided some links to additional reading and resources.

Whether you already have an idea for a business, or you just have an interest in how businesses emerge, the first week of the course will be of interest. We hear from Professor Nigel Lockett, a world renowned expert in enterprise and innovation. We also meet Emma, an entrepreneur trying to find a way forward with her business idea.

Sharing your ideas

During the second week of the course, you will have the opportunity to share your business ideas with fellow learners. You can refine your thoughts and improve your business plans by asking others to challenge your ideas. You may find learners with similar ideas; collaborations might provide a possible route forward.

However, it is important to remember that we live in a competitive world – if you do have an idea for the ‘next big thing’, you may choose to keep some of the details to yourself.

You need to weigh up the risk involved by sharing your ideas against this great opportunity to receive feedback and learn from others. Whether you discuss your ideas in full or part is completely up to you; we just want you to take a moment to consider the possible repercussions before you jump in.

To find out more about protecting your intellectual property, you can access the UK Government site in the See Also section below.

Have your say:

Now we’d like to hear about you. Please use the comments to introduce yourself and share your reasons for joining this course. Please also let us know where you are from; this course is open to learners world-wide.

Take some time to read the posts from other learners. If you come across someone with similar interests to you, you may choose to ‘follow’ them. You can then filter the discussions to only view the comments from those you are following. This can help to make discussions easier to manage.

Next steps

When you are ready to move on, click ‘Mark as complete’. You can monitor your progress through the course by selecting ‘Progress’ at the top of the page. This will show you the steps you have completed and will provide your score for the end of course test.